MORGANTOWN — Armani Guzman, in his mind, is supposed to be a shortstop.
“I’ve played the outfield a bunch this season,” Guzman tells the story. “I always tell (WVU coach Steve Sabins) I’m a shortstop. He kind of believes me, kind of doesn’t.”
To his left sits Sabins, who is grinning from ear to ear as Guzman voices the thought.
The WVU sophomore was instead a walk-off winner in the 24th-ranked Mountaineers 4-3 victory over Kentucky on Friday, setting WVU (42-14) for its winner’s bracket showdown against Clemson late Saturday in the NCAA tournament.
His sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth forced Kentucky outfielder Cameron Griffin to make a diving catch and fall to the ground, giving Brodie Kresser the time he needed to score the game-winning run.
“I was kind of just trying to hit it,” Guzman said. “I wanted to stay on the fastball away. If he hangs a slider, hit it. He made a good pitch, a slider away. I stayed on it enough to get it to center field.”
Guzman’s journey with the Mountaineers has been two years of exercising patience.
His freshman season was that mainly as a pinch-runner, put in late to try and steal a base or for simply more speed on the base paths.
He has shifted around a season later, seeing most of his action in right field, where Guzman made a highlight catch earlier this season against Utah, after crashing into the right field foul-line fence at Kendrick Family Ballpark, but having enough momentum to reach over and still make the catch.
He also robbed Ohio State’s Ryan Miller of a two-run home run with a leaping grab at the fence and then picked off Tyler Pettorini with a long throw to first base for a double play.
Yet his playing time had dwindled as the season progressed, because Sam White’s shoulder injury would only allow him to be a designated hitter, forcing Sabins to use Kyle West in the outfield rather than DH.
“He’s had spot starts throughout the season,” Sabins said. “When Sam White got hurt earlier in the year, it basically eliminated his playing time.
“He stayed positive. He stayed motivated. He’s worked his butt off the entire season.”
Now, in possibly the biggest game of the season, Guzman was getting a start at third base.
“Yeah, I was pretty nervous,” he admitted. “The whole day, just kind of seeing the lineup and I hadn’t played it much. I do like the infield a lot.”
Before his walk-off fly ball, he pulled off another fantastic defensive play by ending the eighth inning.
Fielding Patrick Herrera’s bouncer deep in the third-base hole, Guzman gunned the ball to first base for the out.
Guzman’s leg cramped up after the play, but he remained in the game.
“Guzman is a premium athlete with a great attitude, who is ready to make an impact.” Sabins said. “He actually got two hits at Globe Life (in the Big 12 tournament). I said, ‘Damn it Guzman, we need to get you at third base. It’s killing me every night without you being in the lineup.’
“I asked him if he could play third base. He said, ‘I can play third base.’ That’s kind of how that all evolved.”
WVU is now 4-0 in NCAA regional play over the last two seasons, a much better stat than the 4-9 record the Mountaineers had over their last 13 games heading into the Clemson, S.C. Regional.
Three of those nine defeats were walk-off losses, with two coming against hated rivals Pitt and Marshall.
WVU finally got to be on the other end of that story.
“To get our first walk-off of the season on the road is pretty special,” Sabins said. “I think we have the most road wins in the country, and so it’s fitting for this team to come on the road and get its first walk-off.”
